Seasonal Depression

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - If the month of March has seemed gloomy and almost depressing to you, experts say Nashville's dreary spring weather may be to blame. "A lot of times when people haven't seen much of the sunlight, we have a tendency to get a little down and discouraged," explained Nate DeGraaf a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who constantly sees patients with seasonal affective disorder. According to the National Weather Service there were 23 cloudy or partly cloud days during the month of March, days on end without the sun can have a serious affect on a person's mood especially if they are prone to depression. "If I wake up on a day like today and think ‘wow this is another ugly day' well now we've got an overhang of ugly day that kind of colors everything we do throughout the day, it really has an impact on your attitude too," DeGraaf explained. DeGraaf says the gloomy weather can also have serious consequences for a person's physical health, if they look outside and see rain they are less inclined to do physical activity that can help both the mind and body stay stress free. "We get the stress trapped in our brain and we don't give it an opportunity to circulate out."Email: cconte@newschannel5.comFacebook: Facebook.com/NC5ChrisConteTwitter: Twitter.com/ChrisConte